Cafe Pista: A Shining Example of the Coffee Shops Oases in Montreal
One of my favorite parts about Montreal is how you can be totally lost or totally freezing to death but a temporary refuge in the form of a nice coffee shop will always be within good walking distance. One day I made the wild decision to walk 40 minutes towards Downtown Montreal as a way to exercise and get to see more of the city. A terrible mistake from the jump, as the snow, wind, and chill factor was reminding me that I was in Canada during the tail end of their infamous winters.
I was struggling, not going to lie. The steps were getting harder, but I saw this woman facing one of the nearby windows that looked so comfortable with her coffee and no jacket in sight. That level of warmth was inviting, and after a few more steps towards the next intersection, I turned around and decided to check out the venue.
Café Pista has multiple locations, the one I randomly discovered and fell in love with instantly is the one by the Saint Laurent Metro stop and Montreal’s Chinatown. This place is very spacious but also properly utilizes its room so even with a good crowd it never feels claustrophobic. Scattered among the cozy chairs and tables are plenty of outlets for extended laptop time (one of my favorite peacetime activities).
My freezing body was happy to be here, but still needed some physical and mental recovery from experiencing Montreal’s wind chill. I ended up ordering one of their Portuguese pastries and an iced mocha (because even with the freezing winds, I can’t bring myself to order a hot coffee). The results were delicious, some advanced-level coffee shop quality done with no fuss, no pizzazz, and great service. I knew I discovered a hidden gem out of nowhere.
I remained for a good hour just relaxing, being a coward against Montreal’s freezing conditions, and enjoying the vibes. Café Pista also offers a wide variety of coffee grounds to take with you, ranging flavors and countries. Between the vibes, the variety, and the quality, I know this place would be a weekly destination if I lived here.
So of course, when I experienced the freezing cold yet again on another day, this place became my refuge again.
On the second round, I was trying to make my way towards Le Central before exploring Montreal’s infamous Underground City (which deserves its own special article in the future). But it was even worse today, and to make matters worse my phone was misbehaving so I couldn’t even figure out where Le Central actually was located. So I had to retrace my steps from earlier explorations and returned here to situate myself, warm up, and finally see how close I was to my actual destination.
This time, I got their hot chocolate and grilled cheese sandwich---which came with a soup of the day. What was supposed to just hold me over became the meal because the soup was significantly more delicious than any potato broccoli soup is allowed to taste, and the sandwich was unexpectedly amazing. I was anticipating something similar to Starbuck’s pre-created sandwiches, and instead I got food that rivals some of the best sandwiches here in Florida.
Café Pista has once again saved my day.
And for the record, it turns out I was just one block away from Le Central. That visit I’ll discuss later. For now, this is a love letter to the coffee shop that saved me and became one of the highlights of my trip.
Saint Laurent’s Café Pista deserves a visit from each of you. Excellent drinks, wonderful atmosphere, and a surprisingly strong food menu to compliment their specialty coffees.
